Tag Archives: Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Undoubtedly, the issue of missing persons demands a unified approach but in this melee the reason why Baloch go missing should not be swamped, forgotten and sidelined

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

I do not want to be seen as someone throwing a monkey wrench into the works and undermining the move towards a prospective Baloch-Pashtun unity but there are certain things which all those advocating and proposing this unity should understand and keep in view. I for one would be the happiest if this much-wanted unity materializes and becomes a political reality in this depressingly barren political landscape. I have mentioned below some things which do require attention of all who desire the much-needed unity between Baloch and Pashtuns and all those who want return of missing persons.

The evidence presented by Kaiser Bengali shows that there is systematic and wilful discrimination and apathy towards Balochistan with the express purpose of utilizing its resources for benefit of others.

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Rebellions and insurgencies do not occur in a vacuum but are reactions against political and economic injustices. A new book A Cry for Justice: Empirical Insights from Balochistan by Kaiser Bengali highlights the injustices perpetrated against Balochistan with help of irrefutable data. He has the advantage of being an advisor to Balochistan and Sindh governments but more than that he has his heart in the right place.

His dedication to the Baloch struggle made him a target for Pakistan which wanted him silenced

by Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Since March 27th 1948s forced accession the Baloch have been resisting the Pakistani state’s attempts to exploit their resources, politically disenfranchise them, physically eliminate and intimidate them and last but not the least turn them into a minority with influx of non-Baloch people. Baloch resistance has so far foiled the evil designs though this has taken a heavy toll of Baloch lives but there seems to be no let up in resistance.

The intensity and areas of this resistance has varied over time; initially it was limited to central Balochistan then it shifted to Marri and Mengal area with traces of it in the Makran coastal areas. Now the resistance encompasses entire Balochistan with Makran coastal and adjoining area being the most active.

The Baloch should understand that forging alliances with the MQM is forging alliance with the establishment.

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

A Baloch activist friend who lives abroad recently wrote to me and expressed concern that some quarters among the Baloch are trying to forge a Baloch-MQM (Altaf)* alliance on the plea that the MQM is anti-establishment and will prove helpful to the Baloch. It is a tricky path to tread with such alliances which join disparate ideologies and sentiments on the basis of quite flimsy grounds of perceived anti-establishment stance. The friend also asked to express my views about this.

Writing about such issues, though necessary, has its pitfalls for there is the possibility of creating misunderstandings among friends and supporters, not to mention even within the ranks of the Baloch too. However, despite the hazards, the subject is too important to not to be commented upon.

To understand why Baloch people resisted Pakistan’s attempts to subdue them we will have to look at the past. A brief look at Baloch history will help us understand the present and also enable us to face the future.

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Nations cannot be manufactured on basis of common religion, ideology or geography as has been the case in Pakistan, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Soviet Union and Yugoslavia are no more and in Pakistan fault lines appear daily; you cannot simply lump people together and tell them they are a nation now. Certainly you cannot manufacture a Nation on religious grounds by suppressing diversity in name of religion; it is this suppression of diversity here has resulted in the extreme intolerance that you witness in everyday life in Pakistan and how it is affecting the entire region nay the world. Nations evolve in a historical process they cannot be created on whims of those who would benefit from a custom made nation.

His dedication to the Baloch struggle made him a target for Pakistan which wanted him silenced

by Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Since March 27th 1948s forced accession the Baloch have been resisting the Pakistani state’s attempts to exploit their resources, politically disenfranchise them, physically eliminate and intimidate them and last but not the least turn them into a minority with influx of non-Baloch people. Baloch resistance has so far foiled the evil designs though this has taken a heavy toll of Baloch lives but there seems to be no let up in resistance.

The intensity and areas of this resistance has varied over time; initially it was limited to central Balochistan then it shifted to Marri and Mengal area with traces of it in the Makran coastal areas. Now the resistance encompasses entire Balochistan with Makran coastal and adjoining area being the most active.